Bisphenol A (BPA) is an organic compound that is used to make epoxy resins, polycarbonate polymers and other plastics. It is considered a toxic substance in some countries because of the hormone-like properties it possess. Canada and the European Union have even banned it from being used in baby bottles.

Now, a new study from China has revealed that BPA could be a risk factor for meningioma brain tumors. They made this connection by studying 247 patients with meningioma and 258 patients with no cancer history. Each patient had their medical records and history collected for the sake of the study.

All patients were observed at the Union Hospital in Wuhan, China. The researchers would check the brain tumors with brain scans or biopsies while BPA levels were identified through urine samples.

All volunteers were placed into one of four groups, which were determined by the concentration of BPA levels in urine. The groups consisted of less than 0.53 ng/ml, 0.54-0.91 ng/ml, 0.92-1.69 ng/ml, and over 1.69 ng/ml. They determined whether increasing BPA levels in urine were linked to meningioma diagnosis.

According to the results, patients in the latter three groups with the higher BPA concentrations were 1.4 to 1.6 times more likely to be diagnosed with meningioma than those in the lowest BPA level group. The team also found that the association between the two remained consistent despite other factors like BMI, age and gender.

The study noted that this is the first time a link has been shown between BPA exposure and meningioma diagnosis.